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Psychics reunite Vietnam’s dead
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 VIETNAM. Even though it is 30 years since the end of one of the 20th-century’s bloodiest episodes, the Vietnam War, the search continues for the remains of the dead. Half of those who died – conservative estimates put the number at over three million, one third of whom were North Vietnam soldiers – are still unaccounted for: interred but unidentified in war cemetries, or given makeshift burials on the outskirts of villages or in the jungles where much of the fighting took place.
In Vietnam’s culture, it is believed – apparently by the dead as well as the living – that without a proper burial the dead never find peace. Also, nearly every home has an ancestral altar on which ancestors’ remains are kept and, again, the lack of a relative’s physical presence – even if only a few broken bones – on this scared display causes the family great anguish.
Every day, Vietnam army units go in search of the war’s MIA (missing in action) dead, taking leads from the living who witnessed or were told of burials during what they refer to as “the American War”. Often, they succeed in uncovering what remains of “martyrs” – the name they always use for their fallen comrades. But invariably when these remains are found and given a proper burial they remain unidentified, as ex-soldier Tran Van Ban explained as he gently wrapped the newly-uncovered remains of missing men from the Cat Bi unit in which he had served.
In tears, he explained: “All we can do is address them by some meaningless number. This is our sadness.”
For many families, the only hope for closure on this painful period in their history, is the help offered by psychics who specialise in finding relatives’ remains. Many are charlatans, taking advantage of grieving families. But a handful of psychics have the blessing of the Vietnamese Government which has established the Centre for Research into Human Capabilities (CRHC) in Hanoi. It has the support of the Politburo and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Heading its parapsychology department is Major-General Nguyen Chu Phac, who is said to have travelled the country testing hundreds of psychics before establishing Project TK05 – a study of how the living can communicate with the dead – using the elite mediums he discovered with the assistance of a special committee from the national science council.
Since it was formed in 1987, its psychics are reported to have located thousands of those missing in action, and the TV documentary focused on one of them – Nguyen Khac Bay (pictured, top), a young family man whose wife is a doctor. He draws maps of graves’ locations by studying relatives’ foreheads and listening to what the dead have to tell him. His success rate – put at 85 per cent – has resulted in a one-year waiting period for an appointment.
 Also featured in the documentary was Vu Thi Minh Nghia (right), a grandmother who works alone. She says dead martyrs speak to her all the time, pleading with her to dig up their remains. She sets off with a spade on the back of a motorcyle, and once she uncovers parts of a body, the spirit usually gives a name and an address to which she writes, in the hope that relatives of the dead soldier still live there.
Interestingly, both Bay and Nghia claim their unusual psychic gifts followed near-death experiences.
What evidence is there that these psychics are correct? Most Vietnam families cannot afford the cost of the DNA tests that would be necessary to confirm that the remains really belong to the relative, but in the few instances where this has happened, according to the CRHC) they are said to have been positive.
Nghia also displayed a certificate confirming a 100 per cent DNA match with the remains she had uncovered and the relatives she contacted. Here home, given to her by the southern province of Ba Ria in gratitude for her work, is a shrine to the 4,000 soldiers she claims to have found. Many of their photographs are on display. And she tearfully watches over the remains of those still waiting for a family reunion.
Even without DNA confirmation, Bay’s word is sufficient for remains to be given a martyr’s funeral and the grave identified with the name of the soldier whose family he has helped.
This well-made documentary impressed the critics, though they made the point that it offered little in the way of proof that the psychics involved really possessed the abilities they claimed. But as Chris Riley, writing in the “Daily Telegraph”, observed:
“This was a film that cried out for some editorial perspective, for a critical gaze. But as Thanh [who was looking for her father] was led to a grave which may or may not have been her father’s (the remains were too corrupted to DNA test), this requirement for definite proof or its opposite suddenly began to seem rather less important, almost unseemly. Rightly or wrongly, what Thanh discovered made a difference to her and her family. And maybe that’s enough.”
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Posted on Monday, September 04, 2006
Category: Mediumship
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